Prior art of possible relevance includes the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,589,364 issued June 29, 1971 to Dean et al.; 3,935,099 issued Jan. 27, 1976 to Weaver et al.; 3,981,100 issued Sept. 21, 1976 to Weaver et al.; 3,985,616 issued Oct. 12, 1976 to Weaver et al.; 3,997,484 issued Dec. 14, 1976 to Weaver et al.; 4,045,385 issued Aug. 30, 1977 to Fanta et al.; 4,134,863 issued Jan. 16, 1979 to Fanta et al., and 4,242,206 issued Dec. 30, 1980 to Estabrooke.
As is well-known, many liquids are desirably filtered prior to their use to mechanically separate impurities, generally in the form of particulate material, from the liquid. For example, in the case of fuel, such material can plug carburetor jets or injection nozzles and otherwise interfere with the operation of an internal combustion engine for utilizing the fuel. Thus, fuel is typically filtered at the time it is dispensed as, for example, at a service station, and is filtered again just prior to its use by a fuel filter associated with an internal combustion engine.
While such filters adequately rid the fuel of particulate contaminants by mechanical filtering, many are such as to permit liquid contaminants to remain with the fuel. A particularly disturbing liquid contaminant often found in fuel is water. Water, being noncombustible, can cause severe malfunction of an internal combustion engine and may damage expensive engine components, particularly fuel injectors. The hazards of water accumulation in fuel are perhaps best known to general aviation pilots who routinely, prior to initiating a flight, drain small amounts of fuel from low points in each fuel tank to inspect the same for the presence of water which could cause the aircraft engine to fail to develop full power or quit entirely at a critical moment in flight. The economical hazards of water in fuel are perhaps best known to owners or operators of diesel engines who have had fuel injection system components, which are quite expensive, damaged by the presence of water in the fuel. Many motorists have likewise been inconvenienced, particularly during the winter, by an automobile engine that refuses to start and/or run properly due to water in the fuel.
While water has been successfully removed from fuel prior to the present invention, the various means for accomplishing that result are frequently expensive, complex and/or inconvenient to use and/or replace.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the above problems.